Sue Scheff: Sign the Pledge – Don’t Text and Drive – New Florida Law will soon Ban Texting and Driving

If Oprah says it, you can almost guaranty people are listening. On April 30th, 2010 Oprah is declaring it “National No Phone Zone Day” and encouraging every driver to sign the pledge not to text and drive or talk and drive!Distracted driving kills same as drunk driving does.

That is only part of it. In Florida, a bill passed the Senate Committee and is on its’ way to the State Capitol. This bill will ban texting and driving. Senator Nancy Detert presented this legislation stating, “People that are texting are generally drifting into your lane unbeknownst to them and we’ve seen studies that if you’re reading a text at 70 miles an hour, driving tons of machinery, generally you’re not looking at the road for up to seven seconds and that would be plenty of time to cause an accident.”

If passed, Detert’s bill would make texting while driving a secondary offense, which means drivers could only get a ticket if they were pulled over for another violation.

The first offense would be a non-moving violation with a fine of $30 plus court costs. A second violation within five years would be a moving violation and carry a fine of $60.

Senator Detert said her main goal is to raise awareness about the dangers of texting while driving and discourage drivers, especially teenagers, from forming that habit.

All of this comes as Oprah Winfrey encourages everyone to take the pledge. It is only a matter of time before texting and driving will be illegal, however until then, you could potentially be saving a life. Texting and driving is as dangerous asdrinking and driving. Don’t take the risk, it just isn’t worth it.